PUMA is bringing back one of its all-time classic silhouettes in 2024.
In 1999, PUMA launched the Mostro, an avante-garde sneaker unlike anything on the market at the time. It’s designer, Peter Schmidt, drew inspiration from an old surf shoe from the ’80s surf shoes as well as ’60s sprinting spikes to create a Frankenstein-like hybrid of sorts, fitting as the Mostro borrows its name for the Italian word for “monster.” At the turn of the millenium, shoppers were looking forward to what the future had in store, which made the Mostro a big hit with consumers. So while the Mostro is rather obscure nowadays, over a million pairs were sold throughout the early and mid ’00s. People from all walks of life were wearing them, from your average Joe to superstars like Madonna and Björk. The Mostro Nu, a slightly modified version of the silhouette, was also prominently featured in the 2005 film The Island starring Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor.
Over two decades after its debut, PUMA is now bringing the Mostro, joining in on the Y2K revival trend that is currently going on in the fashion world. The 2024 version is not a direct retro of the OG 1999 Mostro, but a remastered version that pays homage to the ’00s Mostro lineage by combining the upper of the OG Mostro with the tooling of the Mostro Ur that came out a couple years later. The 2024 iteration launches in Light Grey and Yellow colorways, both featuring a mesh upper, a metallic silver PUMA Formstrip overlay, an elastic strap closure, and the iconic dimpled rubber sole.
To celebrate the launch, PUMA has launched a campaign for the Mostro that features two monster-like characters: a Gen-Z tastemaker from NYC named Jack and a tourist/micro-influencer named Jen. Like the Mostro, these characters are said to have been “thawed out” after 25 years in cryogenic slumber and are intended to stand out as different from the rest.
The PUMA Mostro “Light Grey” and “Yellow” will be available at select retailers worldwide starting January 13th. This includes END. Clothing, LN-CC, Slam Jam, Kith, and Dover Street Market. Additional colorways will be released throughout 2024. Check out the two launch colorways and the accompanying campaign imagery below.
PUMA Mostro
Release Date: January 13, 2024
Campaign:
Upcoming pink colorway:
PUMA Mostro (2024) 🩷 pic.twitter.com/XJdX1elPlW
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